Unseen Magic
by Dawning Era
Summary: What if Pasco wasn't the only mage Sandry found in Emelan? R&R. Please? *puppy dog eyes* FINISHED!
1. Discovery

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Dami and the plot and her power, which is the same as my other characterses power. The rest belongs to Tamora Peirce.

A/N: Alright people, I did this for school. My English teacher doesn't know what a fanfic is, so I wrote this as a bonus thing so I could get good in the class (please Ms. Grant?) Since this will be for class it will not be as long as my *ahem* other works. This will not be altered from the version I have handed in.

Unseen Magic

Sandry rode hard to Yazmìn Hebet's school of dance on the busy Festival Street. She had overslept, a habit she had not fallen into for years, and was late to meet her student, Pasco. It was hard to believe that she had been training him-and occasionally helping with Lark's new student, Comas- for about three months now. Pasco had improved much over the months and between the two of them and the famous Yazmìn, they had come up with many useful ways for him to use his dance magic.

Dismounting from her horse, she began to approach the crowd blocking the way to the school. Oama and Kwaben, her two guards, managed to catch up to her while she stood there, perplexed. Oama tapped one man on the shoulder, inquiring as to the reason for the crowd.

"Was terrible," the flustered man began, not noticing that a noble stood before him. Sandry was glad for that. "All a sudden, all the school disappeared and them in it's been hangin' in midair since!"

Her thoughts went immediately to Pasco. Finding the cord of magic she kept tied to him, she looked up to the people hanging in the air and looked carefully for her pupil. She found him floating at would have been the top floor where his class was "Pasco," she said sternly, not raising her voice but allowing it to travel up the magical cord to her student. "I want to know exactly what you did."

"Lady Sandry, I was just stretching!" he called back, not having the advantage of letting his voice travel back down a cord to her. "I swear it!"

Sandry made a confused face and made her way through the crowd to inspect the building better. The crowd easily complied, now seeing that she was the Duke Vendris' great-niece and her guards who were dressed in the normal regalia of the Duke's own.

Approaching the would-be building, she tried to see the magic causing this with the special sight that she and her friends Tris, Daja and Briar had acquired. Oddly, she did not see anything, though it was very clearly a work of it.

She held out a tentative hand to where the wall should have been and touched something. Curious, she felt her way along the wall, feeling much like a mime, until she felt what seemed to be a door handle. She turned back to Oama and Kwaben to find that the Provost guards had begun to blockade off the area, leaving her to work in piece. 

She opened the door, or what would have been the door had she been able to see it. Using a bolt of cloth, she marked where it was and continued into the school where many panicked students resided.

Sandry looked to her guards pleadingly. "Would you-?"

"Of course," Oama agreed. "That piece of cloth marks the door, right?"

Sandry smiled and began her search for the stairs, groping along the walls until she found them. Half way up, dropping a bolt of cloth to mark each step, she realized that she could better find her way around the school with her eyes closed, so that she did not have to look down to see that she was walking on nothing. Finishing the first set of stairs in this way, still dropping a bit of cloth onto each step, she found herself almost thankful for the event three months ago when she had cause to begin to carry extra bolts of cloth with her.

She reached the second floor where the sense of panic was even greater. Opening her eyes to the scene of students hovering in midair with the air beneath them as solid as the floor that was once there, she directed everyone on the floor to step on the bolts of cloth to go down the stairs and to listen to the palace guards on directions out of the building. Looking down, they saw Oama and Kwaben finishing the evacuation of the first floor and followed her instructions. 

Sandry continued to do this until she finally reached the top floor where Pasco and Yazmìn were. Opening her eyes, she saw Pasco nervously testing the stability of the floor he could not see while Yazmìn did stretches. Sandry had learned that not looking down was advisable, but her eyes traveled down to the floor, revealing stories of empty space between her feet and the ground. 

She brought her eyes back up sharply and took a few deep, calming breaths. "I had the ward up and we were just stretching," Yazmìn assured her. "Whatever it was, didn't come from here."

Sandry broke the connection of the ward so that she could pass and closed it once more behind her. "I know," she assured both of them. "I can't figure out what happened, though. I can't see the magic that's responsible for this."

"Uh, Lady Sandry?" Pasco asked warily. "Is she supposed to be able to get in here?" He indicated a small girl with large brown eyes mirroring innocence and brown hair tinged with red tied neatly back. She stood inside the boarder, watching them intently and waved a greeting to Pasco. "Dami, why didn't you leave with the others?"

"Why is everyone leaving?" the girl, Dami, asked. "Is there a fire? I didn't smell any smoke." Realizing that she was in the presence of nobility, she bowed gracefully, her eyes never meeting Sandry's.

"How can you _not_ know what's goin' on?!" Pasco exclaimed incredulously. "Look down and tell me you don't know what's wrong!"

She looked curiously downwards. "The floors are slippery because they've just been waxed? Honestly, Pasco, can't you tell me what's really going on? You said I could ask you anything when you were helping me with than dance."

"You mean you can't see it?" Sandry asked with growing interest. Something told her this girl had something to do with this. 

"No, Lady Sandraline fa Toren," she said, eyes not meeting hers. "What am I supposed to be seeing?"

Yazmìn scowled slightly. "Literally nothing," she replied. "We see nothing but our feet and the dirt beneath the school. The walls and floors of the school seem to be invisible."

"But, it can't be-" Dami protested, shaking her head in disbelief. 

"What can't?" Sandry prompted.

"I pretend I can do magic sometimes, Lady Sandrali-"

"Just Sandry will be fine."

Blushing, Dami fixed her eyes on her toes as she continued. "Lady Sandry, they're just games. I just pretend I can do magic, I don't actually do it. Before everyone started screamin' and stuff, I tried really hard to make the walls and stuff invisible, 'cause it was really dark in the room. Then everyone started to get ascared and I didn't see anything change, so I didn't know what was happening."

Sandry considered the story carefully, then shot a meaningful glance at Yazmìn. Understanding, she began Dami on some warm up exercises and Sandry brought Pasco to the side.

"What do you know about her?" she asked.

"Dami? She's been here longer 'n I have. I got partnered with her to help her out with a dance she was havin' trouble with. Brought up real proper, though her parents weren't the most successful merchants. They died in a shipwreck about three months ago. She ain't never lied, though, that I know of."

Sandry nodded, kneeling closer to the floor to inspect it more closely. Now she noticed a silver transparent coating on it, hard to see if you did not know what to look for as it reflected everything around it to avoid notice.

"Dami?" Sandry asked. The girl looked up from her splits, the lowered her eyes once more. _Perhaps she was brought up a bit too well_, Sandry thought as she tried to carefully word her request. "Could you do what you did before to make the walls invisible, only this time focus on making them visible again and try really hard?"

Her face lit up as she looked directly at her. "Really?"

"Lady Sandry," Pasco quietly interrupted, "what about the wards?" 

Nearly smacking herself, Sandry released the wards on the room. Just because she could somehow make her way through the wards did not mean that her magic could penetrate them. She found the window and let another long piece of string encircle the school to make another ward so nothing else would become invisible. Not quite knowing where anything was when you were on the top floor of an invisible building was beginning to become unnerving.

Dami's breathing became meditative as she gathered her concentration. She lifted an open palm to the would-be wall, arm outstretched, and unleashed a stream of reflective silver magic. From the point on the wall it collided with, the wall reappeared, the floor beneath them. Gradually, the whole building came back to their vision.

Dami opened her eyes and lowered her hand "Did it work?"

Sandry sat down, admiring the fine wood floor in relief. "It worked, Dami. Now we need to find you a teacher. I'm going to make a trip to the Winding Circle." At a pleading look from Pasco, she added, "Yes Pasco. You're coming too."


	2. Discipline

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Notta! Zip! Not Sandry, not Pasco, not the Winding Circle, not Lark, nothing! Except Dami and the plot, of course, but you knew that.

A/N: Hehe, another chapter done! Sorry about it being so short. I gotta finish this before the seventh, so It'll all be done soon. Next chapter will be longer, promise! Merry Christmas everyone (as it is Christmas day that I am typing this on) and Happy every other winter holiday that is going on! And Happy New Years if I forget later!

As Pasco and Comas, Lark's new student, busied themselves, Lark made tea while listening to Sandry's description of Dami's magic. How she had been able to walk right through the wards as though they didn't notice her. How she managed to make the entire school disappear. How her magic had been so hard to find. How she could not even see her own workings.

"I can't take on another student," Sandry finally admitted to her old teacher. "I have my hands more than full with teaching and training Pasco, not to mention keeping him out of trouble."

Lark gave her an encouraging smile. "There's a mage at Lightsbridge who can take her named Rina Silversight. She has the exact opposite talent, which should make the two of them perfect for each other. She makes illusions and has a peculiar taste and flair for drawing attention to things. As for Dami's problem with seeing her own magical doings, Rosethorn has a vial of liquid that you can drop in her eyes to fix that. 

Sandry's eyes began to tear with sheer relief and gratitude. She hugged Lard fiercely and thanked her profusely, feeling as though any type of thanks she could give was not quite enough. She knew that there was no way possible that she could handle another student along with Pasco.

"Wait, there's a catch," Lark said, seeming slightly overwhelmed by her show of affection. "You are going to have to watch her and teach her for a bit. Rina's out of Emlan and will be for about a month."

Sandry was more than willing to accept this small compromise. Seeing that it was late, she and Pasco decided to stay the night, much to Pasco's delight. For some reason, she had a feeling that he and Comas would sleep little that night. Sandry was just glad to be back at Discipline, the small cottage where she had spent her childhood and knew she would never quite belong there again.


	3. Quilter's Street

Disclaimer: Me owns Dami and the plot and Quilter's street and it's history. I also own…. No, I'm done.

A/N: It has been brought to my attention that I have messed up a few times. Dawn is Dami, as I wanted to make her name more Tamora Pierce-y and that's what it is if I ever do that again. R&R PLEASE people! I'll even accept flames right now (mostly because I'm freezing)! 

Dami was finishing her last routine before going inside when a familiar shadow came over her. It was the couple who had been coming to watch her dance and had been donating generously to her for a few weeks. She still remembered their kind smiles from the first time they had come, which did not differ from those they wore today.

The first time they had come, she had been looking at the collection of coins she had gained over the day and reminded herself to thank Pasco for helping her with that routine. The coins were enough to last her a week and pay for her classes. Their shadow had come over her then and she looked up curiously. 

"Hello," she had said cautiously. "I'm done dancing for the day, but I'm gonna again tomorrow."

"Where are your parents, sweetie?" the lady had asked kindly. "They really should be out here to watch you dance."

"They're out on a trip," Dami had replied, using the same excuse she had been for the past three months. "They'll be back soon, but someone took all of our money they left for me, so I have to dance to make due."

"Oh you poor dear," the lady had said sympathetically, dropping a few coins into her collection. "If there's anything me or my husband can do for you, just ask." They had left after that, and then returned everyday since, dropping a few coins in her collection before leaving. The coins they left, however, were enough to support her for a month or so each time they donated. Dami now had in a small safe in her house a small collection of gold astrels that could get her by until she was able to work as a professional dancer.

As she gathered up her coins this day and began to head in, she saw riders coming down the street from the west, sun at their backs. She looked at them curiously to find Lady Sandry and Pasco riding towards her and she waved, hoping that they might stop by for a while. The house had been so lonely since her parents had died.

"Dami, what are you doing out here?" Sandry asked with concern as she reined in her horse. "You should be at home right now."

"Oh, I'm just out here to dance," she explained. "People give me money to get by if I put on a show. And my home is right there." She pointed directly behind her at what appeared to be a vacant lot.

Sandry looked at Dami's supposed home in confusion. An understanding suddenly hit her and a slightly amused smile crossed her face. "Dami," she said, her voice even and serious. "Your house is invisible."

The little girl looked at her house, then at Sandry in thoughts of protest. Only then did she remember her newfound ability. "How do I change it back?"

Sandry dismounted and allowed a very long string to unravel, encompassing where the house should have been and themselves. Dami went through the same process as when she made the school reappear, and the house was soon visible again. The locals took little notice of their activities as they continued about their work as usual.

"I was wondering why the tax collectors missed my house," Dami remarked as she invited them all in.

Sandry smiled as she broke the ward and gathered the string. As she followed her in she began to think. _Where did a ten year old get so much power and how can she wield it without seeing what she's done?_ Only when she nearly stepped on a fluffy cat did she come out of her thoughts. 

"Watch out for Mika," she warned, a giggle in her voice. "She likes to get in the way." She put the kettle on the stove and said, "I know it's not much, but it's home."

Sandry noticed a change in her. She no longer treated her like a noble, but as any other person. She liked this change and made a mental note to thank Yazmìn for talking to her, for se was certain she was responsible. 

As Sandry and Pasco moved to help her, Dami ushered them back into their seats. "You're guests," she explained and at once went back to work. "What did you do at that temple place?"

"We found you a teacher," Sandry replied, "so you can learn how to control your magic and some drops for your eyes so you can see when you have made something invisible or tell the difference between something that is and is not invisible."

You mean you made that whole tip because of me?" she asked, flushing deeply as she made her way to the table with a small tray of tea and snacks. Her eye caught a motion outside. "Please don't notice my house," she pleaded quietly. "Please don't see my house."

Sandry saw a few veins of silver begin to weave themselves into the walls of her house. The two people who were walking past did not even look to the house as they past and Dami continued onto the table as though nothing had happened. Scowling slightly, Sandry accepted her tea and watched Dami for any sign that she knew what she had done, though none came.

Sandry went to Dami and put a drop of the strange liquid into her eyes at her consent. It seemed to pool on them, becoming a bright blue, then thin into a clear coating that would soon vanish.

"Dami, tell me about your parents," Sandry requested, interested to see if her family had any magic in the line.

"Lady Sandry, my parents are no longer among the living," she said quietly. Seeing that she was still interested, she continued anyway. "My Ma was beautiful, and my Dad was always smiling. They were humble merchants, all my life they were. Before me, though, my Ma had run away from royalty and been caught by my Dad's family. They gave her to him as a gift, and they fell in love. My Dad didn't agree with the ways of the family, though, so they disowned him and he began a new life here. My uncle came by for the first time ever three months ago and told me. He had my Dad's family emblem on him, anyway, and he said he was my uncle."

She took a long drink of her tea to calm herself from crying once more over her parents, though she felt that she had no more left to shed. She felt Sandry's sympathetic hand on her shoulder and took comfort in it, feeling better having talked to someone about her parents.

"Pasco, where are you going?" she asked as she looked up to what appeared to be an empty wall. "You always do that flirt when you're about to nick some food or hiding from Yazmìn or Lady Sandry."

Sheepishly, Pasco returned to his visible self, turning red with embarrassment. "You mean you could _see_ me all those times?" he demanded angrily. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"How was I supposed o know that I wasn't supposed to see you?" she argued back. "It's not like I knew any of this stuff before yesterday! I thought you did that stupid step for good luck!"

"Good luck?! I dance magic! Everyone knows that!"

"Well, no one bothered to tell me, now did they?"

Sandry quickly excused herself, unsure of how much longer she could hide her amusement behind her hand and began to wander the small house. For a house kept be a ten year old for the past three months, it was surprisingly clean and well kept.

Once she had completely regained her composure, she made her way back downstairs where the arguing persisted. From the way that they argued, it had become obvious that they were both close friends. 

"How could someone have given you gold astrels for dancin' on the street?! They gotta be fake, else they stole it and planted 'em on you!. If the harriers find out 'bout this-"

"Then what? Then they'll find out I'm an orphan and take me to some orphanage? Or throw me in some dungeon like some criminal? I don't have to worry about any of that, 'cause harriers don't come down here! You're an Acalon, don't you know what street this is?"

Pasco considered for a minute, then he paled with recognition and fear. "Lady Sandry, we best leave before dark," he said, eyes darting to the setting sun.

"Why?" she asked, carefully inspecting the astrels Dami had left on the table for foul play and finding none.

"This is Quilter's street," he explained. "There were huge gang wars 'round here a while back and the merchants were getting tired of 'em. The merchants became as bad as the gangs for a bit, taking out a lot of 'em while tryin' to defend their shops. Eventually they made a truce sayin' that merchants got the street by day and the gangs got 'em by night. Merchants keep the peace here better than harriers and the gang wars at night are suicide to go into." His wide eyes turned to Dami. "How can you live here?"

"I've managed," she answered simply. Turning to Sandry, she said, "You probably should get going, though, unless you all wish to stay the night. I doubt if your guards could protect you against the gangs at night."

Regretfully, Sandry agreed to leave her and go home to her uncle. She told Dami that the astrels were real as she said goodbye. On the way to the Duke's Citadel, she made a mental note to get Dami to meditate with them the next day.


	4. Dihanur's Niece

Disclaimer: I own none of it but Dami, the plot and Quilter's street.  
  
A/N: REVIEW! PLEASE! Yeah, that's all I gotta say except HAPPY NEW YEARS!  
  
  
  
It had taken the three of them to finally find Dami the next day and ask her to join them in meditation. Whatever arguments she and Pasco had the previous day had been long forgotten, Pasco even seemed to have a growing respect for the young girl in consideration of her neighborhood.  
  
It was obvious that Dami had meditated before. She only encountered difficulties when she attempted to switch from her normal eight counts of breathing in, holding and exhaling to their seven. When she had to try to picture herself as something very small, she chose a glass. For her first time, she was quite good at pulling her magic in.  
  
She got up and was heading for the door when Sandry said, "Dami, I have one question for you before you go."  
  
Dami turned to face her from her place in the doorway, with one foot already out the door. Though she was a bit interested, she gave Sandry a pleading look to ask quickly, lest she be late for her class.  
  
"What was your uncle's name?" Sandry asked. The question of his identity had plagued her all night.  
  
Dami thought about it an anxious moment. "Nurhar Dihanur," she replied, then ran down the stairs to her class.  
  
They all were immediately glad that Dami had left the room so that she could not see their reactions to this news. Sandry became crestfallen to the point of despair. Pasco stared after Dami in shock, not moving and hardly breathing either. Yazmìn looked at the two of them sympathetically as they both began to shake their heads in denial.  
  
"But-she can't be-" Pasco sputtered, too dazed by the news to make any full sentences at the moment.  
  
"Why did it have to be him?" Sandry asked herself. "There are plenty of people in the world. Mila, why did it have to be him?"  
  
Yazmìn ushered Pasco onto the dance floor and began putting him through stretches and warm up routines in an attempt to get him mind off of Dami's uncle and the past events. Though his body went through the motions he was now so very used to, his mind remained in utter shock.  
  
Thoughts Sandry thought had long since vanished resurfaced from the depths of her mind. The making of the unmagic net which had tried to take her while she was making it. The actual net that they had used to lure the Dihanurs in and had trapped them along with their mage and Pasco who they held as a captive. She had managed to trick them and rescue Paso, meanwhile spinning the net into a cord and killing them. They had been so tainted with unmagic that they couldn't have escaped. She could almost see the blood on her hands.  
  
Her uncle came by at lunch to take them all out for lunch, with flowers for Yazmìn. Sandry and Pasco had much lost their appetites and graciously declined. Seeing that the Duke was growing worried, Yazmìn assured him that they would be all right and the pair left arm in arm.  
  
"I can't believe that he was her uncle," Sandry finally said, breaking the tense silence that had fallen on the room. "If I hadn't killed him-"  
  
""If you hadn't, there'd be a lot more dead Rokats," Pasco countered quickly. If he left her to brood much longer she'd be in a depression for days. "That poor chuff they were usin' as a mage too, prob'ly." He waited for her to acknowledge what he said, then continued. "I been thinkin', them Dihanurs had deep pockets, right?"  
  
Sandry considered it a moment. Nodding, she said, "Deep enough to buy dragonsalt."  
  
"So, what's a bit of gold between family?"  
  
It took a moment for the realization to show on Sandry's face. "Dami," she said, her voice almost a whisper. "And if they know she has that power."  
  
"So it's settled, we go warn her."  
  
"No," Sandry said sharply. "I'm not going to scare her with this until we know for certain. This could all be just talk and nothing more."  
  
"But-" he tried to protest.  
  
"Go ask Osa and any of the harriers if they've heard anything. I'm going to go and contact a few of my friends." She was out the door before Pasco had a chance to say anything more.  
  
Sandry raced home, Oama and Kwaben close behind her as she went to the Duke's Citadel. She remembered little of the ride, worried for her young temporary young disciple and excited at the prospect of finally being able to talk to her friends again.  
  
Nearly knocking over a few of her uncle's servants, she apologized and went to her darkened room. Making a gesture with her arms, the curtains flung open to shed light as she searched for her first attempt at spinning. She found it, a small circle of string with four lumps in it, one representing herself and each of her friends.  
  
Hello? She called to them tentatively stretching as far and as hard as she could to mind-speak with them. Are you guys there?  
  
Sandry? Daja's mind-voice asked.  
  
This had better be important, said Tris' sleepy mind-voice.  
  
Duchess, what brings you to our minds? Briar asked good-naturedly.  
  
Overjoyed at hearing them again, she briefly told them the events of the past few days, explaining about Dami and her concerns for her and her newfound suspicions about the Dihanurs. Have any of you heard anything?  
  
Niko pointed out the Dihanur place about a month ago, Tris offered. He mentioned something about it being too quiet and that they might be up to something.  
  
Frostpine and I passed a strange couple a couple weeks back, Daja said. They mentioned the Rokats and finishing some job, but I didn't think much of it.  
  
It's all makin' sense now, Briar said. My old, erm, friends in the underworld were talkin' 'bout some weird stuff involvin Dihanurs. That couple was prob'ly the one was sent to finish killin' the Rokats. They're gonna try and get that girl, 'cause they knew the outcast Dihanur had a daughter with some magical talent. They'll use her like that other one.  
  
You mean you're back in the sewers? Tris asked distastefully.  
  
I really don't want to be you when Rosethorn finds out, Daja agreed.  
  
Thank you for everything, Sandry said. I have to go to Quilter's street to warn Dami.  
  
You are not going there, Tris and Briar said at once, insistence dominant in their mind-voices.  
  
What's Quilter's street? Daja asked. Tris and Briar readily sent her the basic idea, though somewhat embellished. You are not going there. It'll be dark by the time you get there. Tell your uncle now and warn Dami tomorrow.  
  
Sandry finally agreed, though she desperately hoped that Dami would still be there tomorrow. 


	5. Abduction

Disclaimer: You know this by now, I know this by now, we all know.  
  
A/N: A word of advice, Pasco lovers beware, for I am mean.  
  
  
  
Dami was finishing her last dance when the couple came once more. They requested her presence for a walk and Dami readily accepted. After all they had done to help her already and how kind they had been towards her she could hardly find it in herself to refuse. She still had plenty of time left before sunset to get home and there were plenty of merchants still out.  
  
They talked mostly about where she had learned to dance and how much better she had gotten over the years. As they wandered, the conversation wandered to other topics until the couple told her the real reason why they had taken such an interest in her.  
  
"We realize that your parents are no longer living," the man said quietly as they turned onto Harbor street. "We can give you a family again."  
  
"We also know about your magical talent," the woman added. "We can help you learn to control it better and make it even stronger."  
  
"But Lady Sandry has already found a teacher for me," Dami protested. She realized now that they had been out too long and that the sun was sinking over the horizon, she could not safely go home now. "Rina Silversight is going to teach me."  
  
"A Lightsbridge mage?" the man asked critically. "This Rina will not let you do anything. You will have to stop dancing and study all day. Most of them also detest pets, so your cat will be out on the street. You will probably spend the next few years cooped up at a desk and doing her chores. With us, you can be free and become fore powerful."  
  
"We have a small present for you," the woman added, seeing that they had nearly won her over. She placed a small pouch in her small hand.  
  
Carefully, Dami opened it to find it full of a white powder. She took a small whiff of it and her eyes grew very wide. "This is dragonsalt!" she cried loudly, hoping someone would hear her. "It's illegal!" She closed the pouch tightly and threw it back at them as she tried to make a run for it as a strong slender hand gripped her arm.  
  
Having lived on Quilter's street all of her ten years of life, she had learned better than to leave the house without a weapon on her. Her free hand went to the small of her back and drew out a dagger that she kept on her. Turning quickly, she lunged at the woman, though the tip of her blade only caught a bit of her shirt as she dodged.  
  
Pasco, who had been visiting Osa on Harbor street, heard someone cry "illegal" and his harrier instinct made him go and investigate. From an alleyway, he watched at Dami drew out a dagger and missed her attacker, then got hit by the man in the back of the head with the butt of his knife.  
  
Pasco did a turn he had been working on, going up on one toe while the other leg was held out parallel to the ground. His arms were also out to their full span as he did a single rotation on his toe, casting a shield around himself. Taking up a piece of firewood as a baton, he rushed towards them.  
  
The woman was escaping with Dami draped over her shoulder as the man engaged Pasco, his dagger striking Pasco's shield as Pasco got the gist of the man's fighting style. Seeing that the woman was getting away, Pasco lowered the shield and allowed the man's dagger to become stuck in the firewood.  
  
As he tried to wrestle the hilt of the dagger out of the man's hand, he began to remember his harrier training but looked to the man's torso too late. The man's hard kick collided squarely with his left side, tossing him limply to the side four feet. The man broke into a run to catch up with the woman.  
  
Pasco got to his feet, clutching his side tightly with the intent of pursuing them. The woman caught his action from the corner of her eye and her hand went quickly to a throwing knife at her belt. In one swift motion she threw it at him. Slowed by the pain in his side, he dodged too late and it plunged into his right side.  
  
Osa ran out a couple minutes later, hoping to catch Pasco who he was sure was long gone by now. Instead, he nearly tripped over Pasco's limp form in the street. Panicked, he tried desperately to awaken him, seeing that he was still breathing shallowly, until he spotted a couple harriers on patrol.  
  
"Halmeady," Osa said desperately after running up to them, recognizing one of them as Pasco's sister. "Pasco's been-"  
  
"Pasco?" she asked worriedly. Since her brother had left home and moved to festival street to become a dance mage, she had heard little of him. From the tone of Osa's voice, however, this was not likely to be a happy reunion. "What's happened to him?"  
  
Osa showed them to Pasco's limp form, only the hilt of a knife showing from one bloody side and the other turning a deep purple. "We have to get him to the Duke's Citadel," she said to Osa. "Lady Sandraline can arrange for healers." She turned to her partner. "Can you cover for me?"  
  
He agreed. Within an hour, Osa and Halmeady had managed to get him to the Duke's citadel in a cart and into the healers care. Sandry was there an hour later, helping in any way she could and asking as many questions as the harriers to try and figure out what happened. 


	6. Attempted Murder

Dami awoke in a small chamber on the ground floor of what seemed to be an old house. Immediately she began plans for escape. She tried everything to making the building invisible. Indeed, she had tried that first only to find that the street they were on was abandoned. Nothing she tried worked and by the time they slipped lunch into the food slot, she was sitting defeated on her bed.  
  
As she warily ate the food they gave her, she tried not to let her thoughts drift to the previous night. She had been semiconscious when Pasco fought the man she now knew to be Calar. She had seen the woman, Krana's knife plunge into his side and saw him fall limply to the ground, probably never to rise again. It all seemed like her fault and now Pasco was dead in the street because of it.  
  
Calar came in a while after she had finished her brooding with a proposition for her. "If you wanna make it through the day, you turn me invisible. If you do it you might even get a nicer room."  
  
Dami thought for a minute, trying to keep the fear that threatened to take over her mind in check. She knew that if she did this, he was going to go and kill the rest of the Rokats, she had heard them talking. However, if she wanted to see the end of the day, she was going to have to be an accessory to murder.  
  
An idea struck her. Whenever she undid a work of invisibility, all she actually ended up doing was calling the magic back to herself. She could probably do the same thing over long distances.  
  
"A bigger room?" she asked, pretending to be incredibly interested in the prospect. "Do I get a window?"  
  
"If you do this for me, I'll see what I can do," he agreed.  
  
Carefully, Dami constructed the spell, careful not to let the invisibility leak anywhere else. She also made sure that his blades remained invisible only while they remained sheathed. If she was to pull her magic back too late, Durshan Rokat would need some way to see that there was a murderer in the room.  
  
Calar looked down at himself when she finished, seeing that he was still there. "What game are you playing at little cousin?" he hissed menacingly, his hand shooting to a dagger.  
  
Krana had been watching from a slot in the door and now entered with a deep scowl on her face. "It worked," she said tartly. "Go get rid of those damn Rokats and bring honor to our family.  
  
Dami saw his faded out body, gleaming with her silver magic, look at her skeptically for an explanation. You're inside the invisibility so you can see yourself, but if you look in a mirror right now, you won't be able to," she explained, looking at another part of the room as though she could not see him. "When can I get my new room? And what's a Rokat?"  
  
Calar left Krana to move the little girl up to the second story room which she would have even more problems escaping from and set off silently through the sunny streets of Emelan. He moved effortlessly past crowds and harriers, going so far as to trick one into thinking that he had lost his mind. He moved more quickly after that, careful not to let his newfound freedom go to his head and make him careless.  
  
He reached the home of Durshan Rokat and made it inside effortlessly. This Rokat had brought his cousin to his demise, so Calar proceeded carefully as he searched the house and dodged servants to find him. He found him in his study with his back to the door lecturing a young boy, most likely his son by the tone he was taking. He crept through the open door and past his guards and drew his knife.  
  
His son's eyes went wide. "Father?" he asked warily, his small voice dripping with fear. "Why is that knife floating there like that?"  
  
Durshan turned angry eyes from his son to see what the boy's imagination had dreamed up this time and saw the knife floating there. His guards rushed at it and he let out a cry of surprise.  
  
Calar swore, slashing at both of the guards. Both fell, one dead and the other badly injured. He let out a loud cry that would surely bring the whole house onto him. He would have to make this quick if he wanted to finish, and then get that girl for an incomplete spell. As he turned to Durshan, an arrow ripped at his shirt, coming dangerously close to actually hitting him.  
  
He looked to see the boy aiming another arrow aimed at him and made for the window. He balanced on the precarious perch and watched as the boy swung the bow around so that the arrow still pointed directly at him. Unwilling to so much as risk getting hit, he jumped.  
  
He landed in a pile of street garbage, getting a much softer impact than he had expected. He slipped out of the waste pile and into an open sewer, barely missing getting hit by another arrow. He found a small piece of a broken mirror and held it up to his face to see his own reflection. 


	7. Mika

Pasco awoke in a strange bed, bruised and bandaged, with only two others in the room. He recognized one as his mother and groaned, "I s'pose I shoulda paid more attention t'all that harrier stuff you were tryin' to nail into my head," as he tried to sit up.  
  
Sandry put down her stitch work and gently forced him back down onto his pillow. Bags were heavy under her concerned eyes showing that she had not slept much and she moved about tiredly. "What happened?" she asked, her dry throat almost impairing the words.  
  
Pasco told her the events of that evening, realizing that he had no idea of how long he had slept. Where the knife had gone in still stung considerably, and the pain in his left side from where he was kicked was nearly gone. He was slightly surprised to have found that he had gotten off so lightly.  
  
"You've been asleep two days," Sandry informed him. He thought that she looked as though she hadn't slept any of that, but decided not to say anything. "The knife was poisoned, but the healers have cornered it so you will have to rest until it passes through your system. Durshan Rokat saw a floating knife trying to kill him and one of his sons. The killer appeared just before he jumped out the window. There's a search out for him now."  
  
Pasco's mother, Zahra, got up from her seat with a parchment in hand. "This is the man who showed up at the Rokat house," she said wearily, the pain in her voice telling him that she did not want to put her son through this. Placing the parchment in his hand, she asked, "Is this who did this to you?"  
  
He took one look at the man, already knowing that it was him. Nodding, he replied, "Yeah, him and that other woman, I think was his wife."  
  
"I'm going to go and get Dami's cat," Sandry announced, walking wearily to the door. "I'm sure she would be upset if she returned to find that Mika wasn't well."  
  
It was obvious that she might pass out soon if she didn't get some sleep, and yet she didn't seem to care. How she could be more concerned about the well being of a cat of a little girl who was currently being held captive over her own was beyond either Pasco's or his mother's comprehension.  
  
"I should probably get back to my post," Zahra said, moving to join Sandry.  
  
"I'm sure the duke can spare your services for just a little longer," Sandry assured her. "You should stay here. You two haven't even seen each other for months."  
  
Zahra sat back down and smiled. Sandry set off, leaving mother and son to talk. She traveled in silence, though Oama and Kwaben were loud in their protests to her taking this little venture in her state. They watched over her carefully as she ventured up Quilter's street and to the girl's house.  
  
Sandry was the first into the small house and she immediately began searching for the cat. Oama and Kwaben sat at the table, making themselves comfortable while allowing Sandry to search in peace. As the minutes dragged on, Oama grew restless and got up to help Sandry search, nearly stepping on Mika in the process. As she went to pick up the cat, Sandry's scream could be heard from the upper floor.  
  
The pair of guards forgot about the cat and took up arms as they raced upstairs to see what was happening to their mistress, cursing themselves for leaving her on her own. They burst into the room in which had emitted the scream to find Sandry and a strange woman caught in a staring contest, the woman's back facing the door. Sandry clutched a bleeding right arm and was now far too tired to perform any spells to protect herself.  
  
The woman went to a dagger at her waist and drew it, charging to Sandry. Oama and Kwaben charged at her, and she leapt aside gracefully, looking at them menacingly. A hand shot behind her back and, with one swift movement, she took out two confusion balls meant to knock out horses and threw one at each of their torsos.  
  
Sandry watched helplessly as the cloud engulfed them. She found herself unable to do anything to stop the woman or to help the guard who had become her friends. Wracking her sleep deprived mind, she tried to find something, anything, that she could possibly do as the woman now advanced upon her with an odd piece of cloth in her gloved hand.  
  
She summoned the cloth in the woman's hand to herself, having a feeling that it would somehow be used against her. The instant it was in her hand, she knew her theory to be true and that she had been duped. Laced with a mixture of snake venom and bits of unmagic which she thought she would never again see, she immediately felt herself falling deep into blackness. Trying to fight it, she found herself fighting a losing battle, her body all too willing to give in to the sleep. Her eyes fell on her guards and the last thing she said before all went black was to them. "Sorry." 


	8. Offer

Disclaimer: Forgot this before for two chapters. You guys know what is and isn't mine.  
  
A/N: All right, does anyone know how to make my font on ff.net change color/size/face? I need it for another ficcy and I don't know how to change the font beyond italics and bolding.  
  
  
  
Dawn watched as the door to her new room on the second floor swung open. She turned her head from the now invisible wall to the person now entering her room. There had been naught but food coming to her through that door, which now brought her Krana and Calar. She waited patiently as they entered, almost excited to hear their newest plot to make her comply to their will and make her help them in their murders.  
  
"We have a visitor for you downstairs," Calar announced with a cruel grin. "She might just live if you do what we ask."  
  
Dawn looked at them skeptically. "She's resting downstairs in the room below you if you don't believe us. That little trick of yours should be able to let you see her," Krana added with a sneer.  
  
Dawn made a small bit of the floor fade away so that she could see below to a room with a familiar female figure laying peacefully on a cot. "Lady Sandry," she gasped in recognition, looking carefully to see that she was breathing very softly, but seemed to be quite far from consciousness. A bandage encircled one of her arms was quite red, fading into a darker crimson. She turned enraged eyes onto her captors. "How do I even-"  
  
"You either do it or the stitch witch dies!" Krana snapped. "We're generous people, so we're giving you three days to decide. Say no and we'll go and get another one."  
  
"Can she even wake up now?" Dawn asked, her eyes now blazing with anger.  
  
Krana made a vague gesture to the invisible portion of the floor. A man came out from a shaded corner of the room. He looked much like a random homeless man they brought off of the street to do their bidding. He took something from Sandry's hand and Sandry began to immediately stir. The man smacked her across the cheek to fully awaken her.  
  
Sandry shot straight up, hand clapping to her sore cheek and looking around to try and orient herself to her new surroundings. Last thing she remembered was facing a woman Dawn's house and being incredibly tired, but now she felt more powerful than before and was fully alert. She spotted the man behind her and immediately labeled him as an enemy, beginning to cocoon him within the threads of his own clothing.  
  
She had only just begun when another hand clapped over her mouth holding another piece of cloth. The scent of it wafted into her nose, instantly making the room spin into darkness. She was out before her head gently landed back on the pillow.  
  
Dawn watched speechlessly above, her face mirroring both her relief and her horror at the scene below as Sandry was awoken, only to be overpowered by another person who she did not notice before. It was a cheap trick, though Dawn had to admit that she could see the bad-guy logic in the event.  
  
"You have three days to decide," Calar reminded her eerily as he left with Krana on his arm. "after that we'll kill her, maybe even let you watch. Then we can just find someone else. Too bad that boy, Pasco, is already dead thanks to you. Perhaps the infamous Yazmìn Hebet would like to service us in this."  
  
The door clanged shut, the sound of wood on wood echoing in the small room. Dawn put her head to her knees and let out all of the tears she had been holding back since this entire ordeal had begun. 


	9. Heroics

Disclaimer: I own the haunted district, the evil people, Yalat, Dami and the nurse.  
  
A/N: He, almost done. There's one more chapter after this, though this is probably where you all will stop reading, huh?  
  
  
  
"What?!" Pasco exclaimed, not at all believing what they were telling him.  
  
"Lady Sandraline fa Toren is missing," Halmeady repeated patiently to her still-wounded little brother. "Her guards, Oama and Kwaben, were found unconscious in that little girl's house on Quilter's street by a merchant and she was nowhere in sight. They're both being questioned."  
  
"Why question?! We already know it was them Dihanurs who've come back to finish the Rokat job! And if they done it on Quilter's street, then they was probably on some sort of drug."  
  
Halmeady looked worriedly to her brother as he sank into thought. He had only awoken the previous day and he looked as though he were plotting trouble already. She shook her head, hoping that whatever he was planning he would forget and leave this matter to the harriers and harrier mages.  
  
"Have you even figured out where the might be?" Pasco asked.  
  
"We figure it's that large abandoned district behind Harbor street. It's the only place where somethin' could happen without anyone noticin'. The rumors 'bout the place bein' haunted kept people away for so long." She paused a moment, considering what she had said. "Don't you go getting any ideas, now," she warned him.  
  
Pasco put on a shocked expression. "Why would you even suspect anything of your poor bedridden brother? You however, Halmy, might be in trouble if you were late for your shift."  
  
Halmeady looked to see that it was indeed growing late and if she did not hurry and leave now she would be late for her shift. With a hurried goodbye, she left Pasco with a warning. "Don't even think of leaving, a couple of Lady Sandry's mage friends arrived yesterday and agreed to watch your room to keep you out of trouble."  
  
He stared incredulously after his sister. Him try heroics? He was certainly going to do more than simply try. He got out of bed on cat's feet so as not to attract any attention from outside, cringing at the pain in his side. He had spent the day trying to think of a step that would rid him of the pain in his sides and he had finally come up with one.  
  
Pasco crossed his right foot behind his left, leaving it to rest on the toes. Gently, cringing at the pain in his side, he brought his arms up above his head, crossing them at the wrist. He turned counterclockwise, his arms coming down crossed before his chest and sweeping out at the sides, brushing the pain with them.  
  
Following that, he did the flirt that came so natural now to him and from common sight. Pasco quickly rearranged his pillows beneath his blankets so that it would appear as though he were still resting in his bed. Taking a spot right beside the door, he listened as his guards spoke about their concerns for Sandry and what own students were like while he waited for the nurse to come in to check on him.  
  
Right on the fifteen minute mark, the nurse came bustling in and Pasco quickly stepped out as the door swung closed, careful not to bump into any of those watching the door. He ghosted past them, recognizing them all from Sandry's descriptions of them The flaming red hair belonged to Tris, the dark skinned girl was Daja and the boy with the two tattoos marking his next misfortune as punishable by death was Briar. The three of them were all absorbed in their conversation that he easily slipped past them and made his way down the hall.  
  
Pasco was at the exit when he heard the scream from the nurse, realizing that he wasn't still in bed. He broke into a run and made his way to the stables. He found a horse quickly, dropping his invisibility and mounting it, he took off and left a few coins on the stall door as payment for the horse. They then set off for Harbor street.  
  
It wasn't until he had tied the reins in front of Osa's house and he had begun his trek though the haunted district on foot that he realized he had no plan. Indeed, he was not even sure which house in this large district held the Dihanurs and their captives. Not allowing these details to discourage him, he let his feet guide him as his mind went to work on a plan.  
  
Pasco became quickly irritated with this method and decided to figure out how to get there rather than trying to figure out what to do once he did. His mind immediately began to settle on one of the earliest dances that Yazmìn had taught him, "Gathering Flowers." He knew that Sandry kept a cord of magic tied to him at all times, so perhaps if he altered the dance slightly so that it was as though he were gathering string, he could trace the cord back to her.  
  
Once he had begun, he let his body flow into the movements that he had grown so very familiar with and let the magic guide his steps to a building that was missing a wall on the top floor. A small figure he recognized as Dami was leaning against it, shoulders slumped and looking quite worse for wear.  
  
As he did a flirt to make himself unseen once more, he mad a silent promise to somehow get Dami and Sandry out of this mess that they had gotten themselves into. He slipped easily into the building, unguarded as it was, and stepped lightly in search of the two responsible for this entire ordeal.  
  
"Nurhar 'n Alzena couldn't have finished this whole thing," a bitter and drunken voice said from an adjoining room. "They had to go and get themselves killed by that little stitch witch. Now we're stuck waiting for some mage brat 'cause that damn Rokat's got his guard up!"  
  
"She'll break, Krana," a slightly more sober voice insisted. "It's just one more day-"  
  
"Two," Krana spat. "Two days, Calar! We should just use the dragonsalt and get it done. Kill the brat and the noble and get on with it. I can't stand this waiting."  
  
"They know what I look like, Krana. I can't do anything."  
  
"It's not my fault you botched the job," Krana snapped.  
  
Pasco allowed them to continue as he silently crept into the room. It held no furnishings except for a square table in the corner which both captors were huddles around, sitting on boxes instead of chairs. There was plenty of room for him to execute the feeble plan he had come up with and he silently beseeched to the gods to help him in this as he dropped his invisibility.  
  
Raising his arms into the air and holding his hands palm to palm, he took three light steps to the right. He lowered his arms so that they were parallel to the ground and took three light steps to the left. Finishing with a graceful deer leap, the drunken pair were vaulted into the air.  
  
Jolted out of their seats, the Dihanurs spun around to see him, staring at him murderously from their spot in midair. Their hands went to their throwing knives and they heaved them at him, half expecting that if they killed the mage that did this they would fall lightly back to the ground.  
  
Upon landing, Pasco went into a turn with both of his arms and one leg outstretched. The shield came up almost too late as one knife flew past his head and landed in the back portion of the shield. Another one was lodged in the front of it, right before his face. His eyes went wide at just how close this had come to not working and saw a venomous green on the tip of the knife that had almost hit him between the eyes.  
  
Knowing full well that this spell would last for a while, he backed out of the room and closed the door before dropping the shield. The knives clattered against the wooden floor, though one was silenced from it's echoes. Turning slowly around, he came to face the three who had been watching his room, the three that were close friends of Sandry. He had heard many stories about them and, though Sandry had try to convince him otherwise, the looks on their faces now told him that they should be feared.  
  
"Insane little bleater, aren't you?" Briar asked him critically. "Were you even thinking at all?"  
  
Pasco felt the pain of his wound in his side begin to flood back twice as painful as before. It was almost as though it were making up for all the time he was up and moving about. "Them Dihanurs don't think twice 'bout killin' people," Pasco said, trying desperately to ignore the pain. "Only reason I know Dami ain't dead is 'cause I saw her. I still haven't found Lady Sandry."  
  
Tris helped him to sit against the wall once she noticed he was in pain. "I'll make sure the harriers find this place, since you two are better with locks," she said and headed out the door.  
  
"I'll get that girl upstairs," Briar offered, taking a small lock pick out from a pocket in his vest. "Find Sandry." Briar headed for the stairs as Daja went to the opposite end of the house and began a search of doors, one by one.  
  
Briar reached the door to the section of the house with the invisible wall and looked at the lock on the door. He nearly laughed at how feeble it was and how easy it was to break through as he heard the click of it unlocking and gently pushed it open.  
  
As soon as he took one step in he jumped back, seeing a large hole in front of the door. A little girl leaning over it, her hands placed on an empty section and watching the scene below. "No! Stop!" she cried to the person below, who he now recognized as Daja. She was approaching the sleeping girl, Sandry. The little girl looked up at him with tears brimming her eyes. "Stop her," she pleaded.  
  
Daja, stop! Briar mind-spoke to her, half surprising himself.  
  
Daja's hand was about to take a piece of cloth off of Sandry's face when she stopped dead. Puzzled, she withdrew her hand and sent a message back to him. What?  
  
Look up, he said, waving down at the surprised Daja. We'll come down, then this one- he indicated Dami -can tell us.  
  
Dami was ushered downstairs, jumping at the sound of multiple thunderclaps outside. Even though Briar assured her that it was just Tris throwing her temper again, she still ghosted a wall through so that she could see the girl with her red hair swirling uncontrollably around her from the force of the wind and lightning in her hair. Inhaling deeply, she put the wall back to normal and continued.  
  
Turning to into the hall, she noticed a familiar figure sitting against the wall. "Pasco!" she cried, running to him and giving him a hug. "I thought you were dead!"  
  
"I'm not yet," he assured her, groaning in pain. "But I might be if you don't let go of me." As she withdrew, his hand went to his aching side and Briar once more ushered her to where Daja was now awaiting them.  
  
"Briar, I'm not sure if she should come in here," Daja said hesitantly as Dami appeared in the doorway.  
  
Because of the two dead men in the corner?" she asked in a small voice. "I know. I saw them-" her voice caught in her throat. "I know. But you can't touch those pieces of cloth of Lady Sandry."  
  
"Why?" Daja asked, eyeing her carefully to discern any trace of wrong information gathered on her part.  
  
"I heard them talking and I saw," she replied. "They said they found the solution at an apothecary and it puts mages to sleep once they touch it. It also stops mages from using magic somehow. They didn't know how, though."  
  
People coming, Tris warned. Looks like Niko, Lark, Frostpine, Rosethorn and some younger ones-what is Trana doing here?!  
  
They had only to wait a moment before eight people came through the door. Tris was already in an argument with her student over why he was here and how he should have stayed at the citadel while Niko tried to quell the argument. Daja and Briar soon vaulted into heated discussion with their own students and their respective teachers tried to stop them. Lark was slowly making her way through them all to Sandry.  
  
Dami grew agitated and unsure of how to restore order to the room. There was a sick person here that needed their help, but no one seemed concerned except for her teacher. "Quiet!" she yelled over them all, letting her power make everyone but herself invisible. She pointed at Lark who had finally reached Sandry's side and was about to lift the cloth off of Sandry's face. "Do not touch that!"  
  
Lark withdrew her had sharply and looked to the little girl who was now taking charge. "No more arguing," Dami said authoritatively. "Who has gloves?"  
  
"I do," Rosethorn offered. Dami made everyone visible once more and Rosethorn came forward, putting on her gloves. Carefully lifting the cloth from Sandry's peaceful face, she brought it to her nose and smelled it carefully. Her head immediately spin and she held it away. "Frostpine? I'd like to burn this immediately."  
  
As Frostpine went to work, many worried eyes fell on Rosethorn for her diagnosis, two of which belonging to her concerned student leaning on the door frame in the hall with a hand clamped tightly to his side. He said nothing but, like the others, waited on baited breath for the results.  
  
"She'll be fine in a few days," Rosethorn announced. "She just needs time to rest and allow some of the narcotics on the cloth to pass through her system. The dragonsalt may take an exceptionally long time in her case, however." A shock went across the room and quiet murmurings broke out.  
  
"You, on the other hand," she continued, eyes fixed on Pasco and slowly advancing on him. "You have to be hung upside-down by your ankles in a well! You are supposed to be in bed letting that poison pass through you systems, not letting it get back into them."  
  
"I'll let the harriers know where we are," Briar's student, Yalat, offered as she took out writing materials and began to write something down.  
  
"Yalat, I thought I told you, no writing on this trip," Briar said to her sternly. "Who gave her that? Who gave you that? What are you writing?"  
  
"Calm down," she said. "Just making a big sign over this place so that the harries can find it. I won't meddle in any of the forces of nature or the natural order or anything ever again. Why can't you just leave me alone about that?"  
  
Tris and Daja, despite the seriousness of the situation, found themselves trying to surpress giggles at the new, authoritative Briar. He had always had a problem with authority that was being given to him and now seemed to be having problems giving it out as well. Even Rosethorn adorned a rare smile at the spectacle.  
  
The harriers arrived half an hour later to help them transport the criminals, Pasco and Sandry. Briar and Yalat had yet to cease their arguing. 


	10. Rina Silversight

Disclaimer: You recognize it, I don't own it.  
  
A/N: Kay, I gave everyone students for my fluff chapter. Tris: Trana, earth mage (can cause earthquakes and the ground to split, etc.) Daja: Shrakan, transfiguration mage. Briar: Yalat, Writer mage. Whatever she writes comes true. Now where have my fans heard that before?  
  
The winter festival was winding down to a close on the last day, though festivities were high as always. Sandry had dutifully performed her duties as hostess as the Duke had requested so many months ago, almost fully recovered from her ordeal aside from an occasional case of the shakes. Those were inconsequential to her however, as she had her friends around for the entirety of the festival.  
  
Pasco and the other students had become quick friends, regardless of his considerable part in the festival as a performer. Granted, Yazmìn Hebet was the star performer, but the rest of her students still had large parts to play.  
  
An odd woman entered the hall during the afternoon festivities of that day, shaking snow off of a worn traveler's cloak. Lowering her cloak, the woman looked to be in her late twenties, a youthful and fully mischievous twinkle in her bright blue eyes and long golden tresses flowed half way down her back.  
  
Lark was the first to greet her, treating her like an old friend. As she led her towards Sandry, who was talking to Tris, Daja and Briar. "This is Rina Silversight," Lark said. "She's the mage I told you about from Lightsbridge who's going to teach Dami."  
  
"Hello," the woman greeted in a haughty accent and acting much like a noble was expected to act towards a commoner. "I am the one sent to teach this girl the ways of magic."  
  
Even Lark was taken aback by this behavior, unsure of what to do. The teenagers began looking around for the cause of it, noticing that their students were nowhere in sight.  
  
"There," Sandry said quietly, pointing at a corner that seemed vacant aside from plants and a draped window. Upon closer inspection, they could see a faint glimmer of a slivery magic hiding five small people. Puzzled, they approached quietly as they tried to figure out exactly what was happening. As they reached where the silver cloak was, they fell into a dip in the floor they neither saw or remembered.  
  
Careful not to say anything, they seemed climbed to the lip of it, under the invisibility to see their students all huddled in a tight circle trying to hold in their laughter at the havoc they were wreaking.  
  
They're trying to show us up, Daja realized, mind-speaking it to them.  
  
And look who's happily writing away, Briar said, his mind-voice dripping with sarcasm. They don't even realize that we're here, or that they've chosen a very bad corner to hide in.  
  
Indeed, Briar was already mentally calling to the many exotic vine plants and asking for their compliance as the four of them came up with a quick plan to stop their students. Sandry looked to the drapes and began to allow the stitching in them to come loose so that they could fall from their bars.  
  
As the vines began to creep around their student's ankles, they came out of the trench. Tris cleared her throat loudly, thoroughly annoyed, to get their attention. They all snapped their heads up and looked at her like scared deer and hesitated before they tried to run.  
  
Sandry took their moment of hesitation to throw the clear blue drapes around the corner, blocking off the escape of Daja's student, Shrakan and Pasco who had not tripped and fallen over the vines which now kept the rest of the student's legs bound. Yalat had dropped a piece of Paper and an odd writing utensil.  
  
Before Yalat had a chance to take back her paper and whatever she had been writing with, Tris summoned a wind which blew them both into Daja's hands. Daja looked at it carefully, seeing that the paper resembled a dish and the pen was a fork. "Shrakan, I thought I said no transfiguring during this trip." She set the paper aflame and let it turn to ashes in her hands.  
  
"The same went for all of you," Sandry added sternly as Briar let the vines retreat once more and set them to work on fixing the floor. "No magic during the rest of the festival." She turned to Dami and signaled for her to follow.  
  
Lark, Rosethorn and Rina were now all talking together, trying to figure out what just happened. They had all gone under the influence of Yalat's writing spree were now asking what had possessed them to do that, although Rosethorn seemed to know exactly what happened.  
  
"Dami, this is your teacher, Rina Silversight," Sandry introduced.  
  
"Hello," Dami said a bit awkwardly. The words of the two who held her captive still rang in her ear and she was still a bit worried that this teacher might end up stopping her from doing anything fun.  
  
"Oh, hello," Rina said cheerfully. "I suppose you are Dami, correct? Pleasure to meet you. You make things invisible? I make illusions. Same basic principal, even if the use is completely different. You dance as well, correct?" She waited for Dami's meek nod. "Wonderful! I love performing on the road, perhaps there are a few numbers you would like to do as well."  
  
Dami gawked at her, as did Sandry. Sandry leaned over to Lark and asked quietly, "Are you sure she's from Lightsbridge?"  
  
"Rina? She's always been a bit eccentric. Lightsbridge can't tame all of them, especially not her."  
  
"You don't mind a bit of travelling, do you? I wish I had a proper place to stay, but they gave my apartment at Lightsbridge away while I was on my last trip and now both myself and my poor cat, Raja, are stuck on the road. Silly thing doesn't like to travel."  
  
"You can live at my house on Quilter's street," Dami offered. "I'm alone there now and Mika doesn't like to travel either, but I do. Would you really let me dance and perform? Maybe we can put on really big shows and do tricks for crowds like those wandering caravans."  
  
Sandry left Dami to talk with her new teacher and to see how the other students were doing with fixing her uncle's floor. 


End file.
